Improvement in supplying heated air to boiler-furnaces



zSheets-sheetl. W. C. FORD. S'UPPLYING HEATEAD AIR T0 BOILER-FURNACES.NO 170164 Patented Nov. Z3, 1875.

Gf/fesses:

idlvrrnn Sl'rn'rns Pnrmv'r N marron.

WILLIAM O. FORD, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN SUPPLVING HEATED AIR T0 BOILER-FURNACES.

Specification forming partof Letters Patent N o. 1 70, [611, datedNovember 23,' 187i); application filed September 29, 1875.

To all whom. ift may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. FORD, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kingsand State of New York, 'have invented certain new and usefulImprovementsin Steam-Boilers 5 and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being hadto the annexed drawing, making part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section through an ordinarylocomotive boiler, with my improvement applied thereto; Fig. 2, ahorizontal longitudinal section through said boiler, showing theapplication of said invention and, Fig. 3, a transverse section throughsaid boiler on the line wx, viewed from the rear end of the boiler.

The object of my invention is, rst, to perfect the consumption of fuelin the furnace of steam-boilers, and of the gases developed in theprocess of combustion; second, to avoid the necessity of delivering theexhaust steam from a locomotive-engine in the smoke-pipe of the boilerto increase the draft of the furnace.

And my invention consists, rst, of certain devices applied to a boiler,by which a stream of hot air is delivered upon the surface of the r reto perfect the combustion ofthe fuel-gases;

second', of certain improved devices applied to a steam-boiler, by whicha stream of hot air is drawn down around the smoke-pipe, and thrown uponthe surface of the fire in the `boiler-furnace by the motion of theboiler, or

of the engine or vehicle which carries the boiler third, of certainimproved devices applied to the boiler of a steam-engine, by which astream of air is created, drawn down and thrown in the furnace by themotion of the boiler, and heated by the waste or escaping heat of the reon its passage to the furnace.V

`surface of the re.

box is shown by A, the grate-bars by H, the.

tubes by B, the shell or'water space by E, the smoke-box by C, and thesmoke-pipe by F. These are parts of the ordinary locomotiveboiler, andin almost the usual form, with the exception of the smoke-pipe, which inthis case is incased in a funnel-shaped air-receiving pipe, shown by c,made larger than the smokepipe, by which there is left an annular spacebetween the two pipes, as shown by c. rlhis air-receiving pipe is fittedupon an air-chamber shown by c in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the smoke-pipepassing down through the airchamber to the: smoke-box in which itislocated.

To the 'air-chamber there is connected va series of small tubes orpipes, a a a a, which pass through the ilues of the boiler to theijrebox A, and connect upon a pipe or chamber, b, located in the top ofthe fire-box over the re, in the best manner to most effectually exposeit to the heat of the furnace.

Into the heating pipe or chamber b there are inserted two or more pipes,d d., leading to the outsideof the boiler-front, as shown in Fig. 2. Theout ends of these pipes are fitted with .valves ff, and are connected.to small pipes c e leading into the front of the furnace.

The air-pipe c, it willbe seen, is fitted with a fun nel-shaped nozzle,the capacity of which may be increased should it be necessary to supplythe required amount of air, by multiplying the nozzles, as shown by handt, though it is thought that one nozzle will be sufficient. But theshape must, of course, be modified with reference to catching the airwhen the pipe is in motion, or in the case of stationary engines, whenthe wind blows from any direction.

The operation is as follows: The air, when the pipe is in motion, isforced down through the receiving-nozzle to the chamber C, from whenceit passes through the tubesa to the pipe or chamber 1),. and from thencethrough the pipe d and e into the furnace upon the top of the lire, thesupply being regulated by the valves ff.

It Will be seen that the air begins -to heat from the time it strikesthe smoke-pipe, and continues to increase in temperature until itstrikes the re, Where it enters in combination with the hot gases of thefuel, and'becomes itself a part ofthe fire it is intended to intensify.

The leading idea of this invention is, by improved means, to increase orintensify the heat of the furnacebydischarging upon the surface of there a stream of highly-heated air, to combine with the gases of the fuelin combustion upon the top of the fire. l By the arrangement of thesmoke-stack shown in the drawing the engine can still exhaust thesmoke-pipe in case of need, though it is thought that the heat and draftof the furnace under this system will be sufficient Without it, by whichthe noise vand dirt occasioned by the blast in the smoke-pipe can beavoided.

Having now described the nature of my invention, and the means ofcarrying the same in' practice, I claim to and desire to secure byLetters Patent- In combination with a locomotive or stationarysteam-boiler, a superheater, consisting ot a iiue formed around thesmoke-pipe, and connected to a series of `pipes arranged in the heatingsurface and furnace of the boiler, substantially in the mannerdescribed, for the purpose specified.

WM.. G. FORD.

Witnesses:

AMos BROADNAX, W. R. HoLBRooK.

